Public Schools Plagued by Overcrowding

2527 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: School overcrowding

With people moving in the cities, overcrowdedness has become a major issue for the public city school system. People often thought of cities as places paved with gold and opportunities, occupied by diverse groups. Everyone comes from different parts of the world chasing after its glamour and freedom. While those desires can be met with settling in urban society, overcrowdedness in Queens of New York City schools have adverse effects on the students’ academic performance.

In cities, we often hear people complain about overcrowdedness, especially around public spaces. But, what do people mean when they say, “It is ridiculous how overcrowded this school is!”? The word is defined as, “Overcrowding occurs when there is insufficient seating or when non-fixed furniture and equipment is provided in excess of the capacity of the venue (“University”). In another word, it means that when people are placed tightly in a limited amount of space, they feel like they are sandwiched and squeezed. Overcrowdedness does not necessarily have to mean overpopulation, but it means when there is a large population in a small space. In New York City, there are small places contained with compacted people, such as public schools in New York City.

On New Year, the ball dropped at Times Square in Manhattan, New York City. People gathered and celebrated while the firework made its way to the sky. New York City is “Located on one of the world's largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, each of which is a state county. The five boroughs—The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island—were consolidated into a single city in 1898. With a Census-estimated 2011 population of 8,244,910 distributed over a land area of just 302...

... middle of paper ...

...e. Web. 3 Feb. 2014. .

"UFT Survey: Hundreds Of Thousands Of Kids In Overcrowded Classrooms." CBS New York. Web. 3 Feb. 2014. .

"University Policy on: Overcrowding in Venues and Teaching Spaces." The University of Western Australia. Web. 3 Feb. 2014. .

wilson, linda. "Queens Schools Better Than NYC Average, But Overcrowded | www.qgazette.com | Queens Gazette." Queens Schools Better Than NYC Average, But Overcrowded | www.qgazette.com | Queens Gazette. Web. 3 Feb. 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Colson Whitehead's 'The Colossus Of New York'

    1150 Words  | 3 Pages

    essence of New York and all its nuances in the form of terse observations. Whether

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of California's Charter Schools

    2349 Words  | 5 Pages

    California is one of the largest states in the country and has one of the biggest state budgets, but in the past several years, its school system has become one of the worst in the nation because of enormous budget cuts in efforts to balance the state’s enormous deficit. The economic downturn at the end of the 2000s resulted in even more cuts to education. It is in environments like this one in which students from poor backgrounds become most vulnerable because of their lack of access to support in their homes as well as other programs outside of schools. Their already financially restricted school districts have no choice but to cut supplementary programs and increase class sizes among other negative changes to public schools. The lack of financial support from the state level as well as demands for schools to meet certain testing benchmarks by the state results in a system in which the schools are no longer able to focus on students as individuals; they are forced to treat students as numbers rather than on an individual case by case basis. An article from the Los Angeles Times showed that majority of Californians give California schools “a grade of C or below” and half think that the quality of schools will continue to decline (Watanabe).While the economic downturn affected the public school system in a negative way, it was not the sole root of its problems. It just simply exacerbated already existing issues.

    Read More

  • Unequal Education in America: Urban vs Suburban Education

    2470 Words  | 5 Pages

    The gap between the nation’s best and worst public schools continues to grow. Our country is based on freedom and equality for all, yet in practice and in the spectrum of education this is rarely the case. We do not even have to step further than our own city and its public school system, which many media outlets have labeled “dysfunctional” and “in shambles.” At the same time, Montgomery County, located just northwest of the District in suburban Maryland, stands as one of the top school systems in the country. Within each of these systems, there are schools that excel and there are schools that consistently measure below average. Money alone can not erase this gap. While increased spending may help, the real problem is often rooted in the complex issues of social, cultural, and economic differences. When combined with factors involving the school itself and the institution that supports it, we arrive at what has been widely known as the divide between the suburban and urban schools. Can anything actually be done to reverse this apparent trend of inequality or are the outside factors too powerful to change?

    Read More

  • Summary Of The Book 'How The Other Half Lives'

    610 Words  | 2 Pages

    The overcrowding is a major tenement problem. According to the book, Riis says that “New York grew into a bigger city because it was not crowded as others were at that moment”. He says that the “growth of New York into a city came as a surprise to many, as it was a common thing to see tenements grow into cities”[3]. The author also states that the crowding in New

    Read More

  • Helping Educators Become More Effective Leaders

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ategies” that have been used and research shows how schools are impacted” (Ramsey, 2006, p.xv11).

    Read More

  • The Big Issue With School Funding

    1682 Words  | 4 Pages

    The fine arts were once highly revered by the community and were a part of everyday life, yet today the fine arts must face their biggest competitor, that being sports. Sports have become a big business and many schools find it easier and better to cut arts programs due to low funding rather than athletic programs. Even though fine arts programs are not as profitable as athletic programs, they should be funded equally to athletic programs because they help student achievement, help students improve their cognitive skills, and encourage creativity.

    Read More

  • Identity and Inner City Kids

    1357 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through programs that directly fuel desegregation in schools, our educational systems have become a melting pot of different races, languages, economic status, and abilities. Programs have been in place for the past fifty years to bring students that live in school districts that lack quality educational choices, to schools that are capable of providing quality education to all who attend. Typically the trend appears to show that the schools of higher quality are located in suburban areas, leaving children who live in “black” inner-city areas to abandon the failing school systems of their neighborhoods for transportation to these suburban, “white” schools. (Angrist & Lang, 2004). This mix of inner-city and suburban cultures creates new challenges for students and teachers alike.

    Read More

  • New York City; A Model City for the World

    1022 Words  | 3 Pages

    Despite the troubles Strong wrote about, New York through hard work and dedication, has achieved many great feats since its establishment. Today, New York is the largest city in the whole United States, along with being one of the largest natural harbors in the world, being home to 19 million people. It is also still a major place of business, providing the soil to gain financial success for many businesses and entrepreneurs. Overall, Strong’s prediction of a bright future for New York was accurate.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of College Education Vs High School Education

    1650 Words  | 4 Pages

    The rate of college attendance has grown over the years with the main reason being higher

    Read More

  • Failing Urban Schools

    1882 Words  | 4 Pages

    Klein, Rebecca (1 November 2013) Yes, Some New Jersey Students Have To Go To Schools That Look Like This. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/31/new-jersey-schools-disrepair_n_4178348.html#slide=3046720

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On School Funding

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    School funding has always been a debatable topic. Although school funding needs to be increased, there is no proof of academic achievement (Hanushek). Academic researchers have sought to answer the questions of whether education expenditures are correlated with student performance(Hanushek). Hanushek has found that there is no proof of academic achievement towards funding the schools(Hanushek). It depends on how the money is spent, not on how much money is spent(Hanushek). “ There are so many areas of education that require money(Shanker).” When you are able to reduce the size of a classroom you allow the teacher the opportunity to give additional help by spending more time with each individual student(Shanker). Also, higher teacher salaries are very important when it comes to having the best teachers(Shanker). Studies show that raising the city’s basic per-pupil allocation from $9,306 to $11,608 will provide better technology and better teachers(Brown). Smaller classroom size and better teachers have a positive effect ...

    Read More

  • Essay On Class Size Matter

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    Are large lecture hall numbers in colleges pushing incoming freshman away? It does for me and many other people I talk to about college. In colleges adds, they mainly advertise if they have small class numbers. They tell us that we will be on a first name basis with out professors if we attend that college. Never have I seen the University of Iowa brag about their 300 people lecture halls. There is a reason to that, and it is quite simple. Students do not learn as well in large class sizes. According to the article “Does Class Size Matter” in the New York Times, students were asked to comment their thoughts on the question. Out of the 220 comments left by students all around the world, 99 percent of the comments that I read said that they liked being in smaller classes for a few simple reasons. One, they can pay attention to what the teacher is teaching better. Two, there are less distractions; this is beneficial to both the teacher and students. And three, the communication with the teacher is much better in a classroom with fewer students. There is more to just the students learning that gets affected by class sizes. We must step back and look at the rock of the classroom, the teacher. It does affect how students learn if the teacher is using certain methods. There are a multitude of ways to teach and sometimes it just doesn’t click with a student the way the teacher is teaching. If we had smaller classes, educators would be able to identify the students who are struggling and figure out a way to help them

    Read More

  • Living in the City vs. Living in the Country

    567 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the country, childhood education, kindergarten through twelfth grade, is significantly better than in a large city; smaller class sizes and larger budgets create excellent learning environments. In cities, public schools are often plagued with very large classes packed into small spaces. Teachers with low pay, and little or no dedication are thrown into classrooms to teach, resulting in poor education. Transportation is very accessible in city environments. Public transportation, by way of subways, buses and ferries, are cheap and easy ways of getting around a metropolis, whether going out to work, school, or for a night on the town.

    Read More

  • Education In Developing Countries

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mir, S. (2011), Education woes: Shortage of teachers a threat to public schools, Tribune, 3 April.

    Read More

  • The Problem With Overcrowded Classrooms

    1228 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Amy, you are really getting great at memorizing you times tables," said Mrs. Field, my first grade math teacher, "here is your sticker, and I will put a star next to your name for finishing the 3's times table!" I loved receiving my stickers and I especially loved getting a star next to my name. These small acts made me feel so special, that I had really done something great. This is how I remember my teachers from kindergarten until the fourth grade. Every teacher I had was encouraging, loving, and supportive of each student that they taught. If one student fell behind, the teacher made extra sure to teach and re-teach the subject until it was understood. Once I entered the fifth grade and into middle and high school, each teacher that I had tried to be encouraging, loving, and supportive of their students; however, my teachers often had too many students to give the individual attention that so many children need. When I began to fall behind in certain subjects, my teachers tried to help but were often unable to teach and re-teach, because they had no choice but to continue on with their lesson plans. I continued to fall further and further behind; therefore, I had to spend many hours after school working on my homework problems with my parents. Up until the fifth grade, I attended private school with about 15-20 students in my class; from the fifth grade on, I attended public school with about 30-35 students in each of my classes. This high number of students in my public school classrooms had a negative effect on my learning experiences.

    Read More

More about Public Schools Plagued by Overcrowding

Open Document